News tagged ‘Java’

Nitrous is a new tweak from Joe Jordan that unlocks the Nitro Javascript engine to give third party iPhone apps like Google Chrome, Twitter and others a speed boost.

The Nitro JavaScript engine is an advanced bytecode JavaScript engine that makes web browsing fast. It powers Safari on OS X and iOS. Unfortunately Nitro is only available to Apple apps such as Safari and iBooks. Nitrous tweak lets you grant this access to other apps.

Today Google announced that it is launching a version of Google Chrome browser for the iPad and iPhone. The company says this version will be available on the App Store later in the day. Last month analyst from Macquarie Ben Schacter predicted that Google Chrome browser was coming to iOS.

Today Brightcove introduced App Cloud Core, a free edition of its app platform allowing developers to create iOS apps using JavaScript and HTML5. One of the main new features of the platform is the ability for developers to create dual-screen iOS app to transfer content to the Apple TV via AirPlay.

Kasperskky lab expert discovered that a new version of a backdoor trojan for Apple's OS X operating system takes advantage of an exploit in Microsoft Word to spread.

The new Mac-specific trojan, named "Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a," uses a Java exploit to infect targeted machine. It spreads through Microsoft Word documents that exploit a vulnerability known as "CVE-2009-0563." There are currently at least two variants of the "SabPub" trojan, which remains classified as an "active attack." It is expected that new variants of the bot will be released in the coming weeks, as the latest was created in March.

Apple on Friday released version 1.0 of its "Flashback malware removal tool" which will scan a user's computer and erase known iterations of the Trojan that some are calling the worst the Mac platform has ever seen.

About Flashback malware removal tool

This Flashback malware removal tool that will remove the most common variants of the Flashback malware.

If the Flashback malware is found, a dialog will be presented notifying the user that malware was removed.

In some cases, the Flashback malware removal tool may need to restart your computer in order to completely remove the Flashback malware.

This update is recommended for all OS X Lion users without Java installed.

600,000 Macs were reported to be infected by Flashback and connected in the botnet, which harvested personal information and web browsing logs from affected machines. The Trojan was first discovered last year and installed itself through the guise of an Adobe Flash installer. This version of the malware is able to install itself automatically after visiting an infected website.

Yesterday Apple issued a support document relating to the Flashback Trojan malware that infects OS X computers. Previously we detailed this malware that infects computers exploiting a Java vulnerability that Apple patched last week. Reportedly this program has affected more than 600,000 Mac computers around the globe.

Russian antivirus company Dr. Web issued a report on Wednesday noting that hundreds of thousands of Macs are infected with the Flashback Trojan, with more than half of them in the U.S. alone. The attack takes advantage of an old Java vulnerability that Apple just patched this week. The malware self-installs after you visit a compromised or malicious webpage.

Wisconsin State Journal has reported that Wisconsin is buying 600 iPads this spring and plans to buy another 800 this fall. The state will pay for the tablets using the funds of the state's settlement with Microsoft related to consumer lawsuits claiming the company overcharged customers for its software. The Journal also presented rather strong argument that the tablets are simply cheaper, more portable and easier to use than conventional computers.

The new iPads will enable students to wirelessly share their work and enable schools to replace textbooks with digital apps or ebooks, referring to Apple's recent announcement related to iBooks 2, iBooks Author and digital textbooks as a "significant development."

District deputy superintendent Sue Abplanalp noted that Madison administrators had been impressed by the results of an iPad trial by Chicago Public Schools, which found the tablets were successful in keeping students more engaged in the classroom.

The latest figures from Net Applications show that Apple closed out 2011 with a commanding 52.1 percent share of mobile devices tracked browsing the Web. In second place was Java ME with 21.3 percent, while Google's Android came in third with just 16.2 percent.

Apple's share slid from 54 percent in November of 2011, and is down from its high of 61.5 percent in October. But it's also up from the 46.6 percent share iOS was tracked at in February of 2011. Coming in fourth in the data was Nokia's Symbian platform, with 5.8 percent, while Research in Motion's BlackBerry holds 3.5 percent. Interestingly, while sales of new BlackBerry devices have been weak, December of 2011 proved to be the best month of the year for RIM.

If dividing Apple’s devices shares in mobile web-browsing, the iPhone took 25.2 percent and leads all mobile devices. The iPad, though, was the second most popular device, with a 24.5 percent representation.

In the PC market Apple’s Macs platform finished with 6.4 percent in December of 2011 comparing with the 92.2 percent share Microsoft held with Windows. Windows XP, despite being 10 years old, is still leading the market with 46.5 percent. Windows 7 is in second with 37 percent, while Windows Vista holds 8.44 percent. As for Apple's Mac OS X, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard platform remains its most popular at 3 percent, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, released in July, closed out 2011 with a 2 percent share in December.

Third-party Dolphin Browser app has become very popular among Android users and has been downloaded nearly 9 million times. As TechCrunch reports, Sequoia Capital invested over $10 million in this app, and some part of that sum will likely be directed to developing iOS version of the browser, which has just appeared in the App Store.

The iOS version has most of the features that made this app so popular among users of Android devices. They are convenient sidebar for quick access to bookmarks, built-in translations, customizable gestures, tabbed browsing, speed dial and more. It should be noted that Dolphin is based on Apple’s WebKit, as well as other third-party browser available on the App Store, default Safari app, and majority of browsers for smartphones.

This browser has some main competitors like Opera and several smaller competitors like SkyFire that are steadily gaining popularity among iOS users.

Android users will find out that add-ons are absent from the version for iOS devices, as iPhone’s technical limitation doesn’t allow using native application add-ons. These add-ons are mainly used to change the look and feel of the browser. However, according to TechCrunch, development of JavaScript-based add-ons for iPhone may be underway.

Dolphin Browser app is available for free from the App Store. (iTunes link)